SCAM? Need your thoughts...

[passion4audio]

I'm going to keep this as anonymous as possible (for now).

A good friend of mine has been "lusting" after a very fine (and expensive) piece of new audio gear. This piece retails for around $20,000. I believe he negotiated it down to around $10,000.

The seller is an "industry insider" and runs a successful audio distributing company. Although he imports and distributes many fine products, he is not a "dealer and/or distributor" for the audio product in question.

Before completing the sale, my friend asked lots of questions:

Q: What is the condition of the product?
A: Mint - no marks, scratches, etc.

Q. Do you have the original packaging?
A: Yes

Convinced the seller was on the "up and up" my friend went ahead and PayPal'd the money using a credit card.

The product was shipped, and the box arrived. My friend was shocked when he saw the box. It was beat up and old looking. The cardboard was "soft" looking like it had been used many times over for shipping. He opened the box up and saw a badly damaged product, with scratches and marks all over it. A piece of it had broken off. Most of the scratches and marks looked as if they were on the product before shipping - they didn't look like shipping damaged marks.

He tried calling and emailing the seller, but no response. (However, it's only been one day... and it's the weekend.)

I suggested that the seller "may" have purposely sent a damaged product in an old, beat-up box in order to make a shipping claim... and suggested that my friend find out exactly how much insurance was purchased. My thinking is that if the actual sales amount of insurance was covered, then it's a good sign... but if thousands more was purchased, then the seller may be looking toward a fraudulant insurance claim.

I guess it's a little too early for me to be posting this until my friend either a) gets in touch with seller, or b) several more days go by without a response from seller.

I've heard PayPal can be a bear to deal with, even if you pay with your own credit card... and the credit card company may have their "hands tied" because PayPal has already funded the money to the seller.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[tentoze]

I'm going to keep this as anonymous as possible (for now).

A good friend of mine has been "lusting" after a very fine (and expensive) piece of new audio gear. This piece retails for around $20,000. I believe he negotiated it down to around $10,000.

Convinced the seller was on the "up and up" my friend went ahead and PayPal'd the money using a credit card.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Only one- anyone who drops ten large on a sight-unseen Internet purchase of anything is a blithering idiot.

 

[Sandy G]

Yeah, I have to go w/Tozer on this one...But I hope yr pal gets it all squared away...Let's hope so.-Sandy G.

 

[usedto]

X2!

 

[passion4audio]

He spent some time with this distributor at the recent CES

and thought he was a great guy. He seemed very professional and carried an impressive line of products.

I guess considering this, my friend felt like he could trust him.

Product was listed on Audiogon, and the guy had excellent feedback.

 

[hifi_nut]

Caution and good sense would suggest giving the guy a couple of days to answer, IMO.

No con-artist or ebay scammer can run a successful audio distributing company for long.

Jorge

 

[Sandy G]

Well, worst-case scenario, w/as much money involved, I'd prolly go have a little chit-chat w/the authorities...$10k, I would think, would be a felony about anywhere..However, I'd give him til about Wednesday B4 I pulled the trigger-there could always be circumstances we don't know about.-Sandy G.

 

[Mark W.]

The buyer saw NO PHOTOS of a $20,000.00 item?????? No matter what the sale price was YOU GOTTA SEE THE ITEM. Even a blurry to close I don't know how to use a camera photo BUT SOMETHING.

Out of maybe 1100 ebay auctions and something like 100 other then ebay internet purchases I think I have bought without photos a couple dozen times and then never more then a couple hundred dollars and that was from a guy I knew on the net for Five years of being in the same small camera discussion group.

If he doesn't hear from the seller buy Wednesday I would at the very least file claims with Paypal and stop payment on the CC.

 

[rhkwon]

Man, I don't know how rich your friend is, but $10K is a hell of a lot of money. Hell, for that kind of price for an item, I would have bought a plane ticket up there to just make sure about it and then rented a car and drive back with the item myself. Would have been good insurance premium well spent.

I think this guy must be trying to pull something. How could something be described as "mint" come to you like that?

 

[Toasted Almond]

X3, but I still feel bad for the guy.

 

[mattybumpkin]

Regardless

of the facts, at this point your friend needs to remain calm and allow the seller to step up to the plate within a reasonable time frame. Everyone has a life so they shouldn't expect a reply within an hour or two.

If they are the reputable person made out to be, they should offer a full refund. I don't think they would want their rep ruined over a private sale.

Good luck,

 

[Jack Lord]

eBay is like a casino in some ways. I never spend more than I can afford to lose.

 

[cp2buy]

Sound like a legal issue to me with legal representation!!!! or simply " a fool and their money are soon departed"

 

[tankdonovan]

I`m speechless!

TankDonovan

 

[Surfacetension]

I hope it all works out but 10K is alot of bread to gamble with, I would give the guy until Wed. and try to unwind the deal, I hope he insured it, For that kind of money I would have insured it myself. The Questions were a little vauge. I think you always have to read between the lines , and be very pionted in what you ask AND always pictures

Hope it works out for your friend

 

[fotno]

Unless Trump decides to adopt me, I'll never have 10K to drop on something as "unnecessary" as an audio component. Having said that, it's not that I wouldn't spend it if I had it. But even if I had 50lb bag of thousand dollar bills to spend I wouldn't spend that kind of money sight unseen. First warning flag for me would've been the seller negotiating a 50% price drop in the price of the piece. If it smells like fish, looks like fish, and feels like fish, chances are it's fishy. Hope it works out for your friend...

 

[Andyman]

FWIW, have your buddy file a "not as described" claim with Paypal.
They should freeze the $10K in the sellers account until they figure out what to do.
Hopefully, you'll have written documentation by the seller of the items "mint" condition.

It's worked for me, but mine wasn't a $10,000 claim either.

 

[hakka26]

What I find hard to believe is that he is selling $10G's of equipment and doesn't have a camera to offer pics :thumbsdn:! That woudl've been a red flag for me :nono:.

 

[zosoisme]

Man, I don't know how rich your friend is, but $10K is a hell of a lot of money. Hell, for that kind of price for an item, I would have bought a plane ticket up there to just make sure about it and then rented a car and drive back with the item myself. Would have been good insurance premium well spent.

I think this guy must be trying to pull something. How could something be described as "mint" come to you like that?

I AGREE WITH YOU....THERE'S A KENWOOD KR9600 FOR SALE ON EBAY...GUYIS FROM MY STATE, SO I ASK TO COME SEE, PAY CASH AND GO BYE-BYE WITH IT......HE FLIPS, SAYS GOT NO TIME FOR EVERYBODY TO COME LOOK AT EACH "PIECE" HE SELLS !!!!! WELL, HE CAN KISS ME GOODBYE !!!! SAYS I GOTTA TRUST PEOPLE !!! HAH !!! WHEN HE CALLED IT A "PIECE" I FIGURED THEN AND THERE HE PROBABLY USUALLY SELLS SHOELACES AT HIS LOCAL FLEAMARKET...........HE LOSES !!!! (yeah me too, I really wanted the 9600...oh well..lol)

 

[tentoze]

I AGREE WITH YOU....THERE'S A KENWOOD KR9600 FOR SALE ON EBAY...GUYIS FROM MY STATE, SO I ASK TO COME SEE, PAY CASH AND GO BYE-BYE WITH IT......HE FLIPS, SAYS GOT NO TIME FOR EVERYBODY TO COME LOOK AT EACH "PIECE" HE SELLS !!!!! WELL, HE CAN KISS ME GOODBYE !!!! SAYS I GOTTA TRUST PEOPLE !!! HAH !!! WHEN HE CALLED IT A "PIECE" I FIGURED THEN AND THERE HE PROBABLY USUALLY SELLS SHOELACES AT HIS LOCAL FLEAMARKET...........HE LOSES !!!! (yeah me too, I really wanted the 9600...oh well..lol)

Zosoisme,

Please find the key marked Caps Lock on yr keyboard and turn it off.